After being treated to the Chiefs and Ravens on Monday, the NFL schedule makers give us the 0-3 Broncos and 0-3 Jets on Thursday Night Football this week. The Broncos and Jets can't be split, both entering the game at $1.90 with the bookies. In what is expected to be an ugly, low-scoring game, the over/under has settled at only 41.5 points.
TAB's The Edge Predictive Analytics reckons the market is bang on, rating both over and under as 50 per cent chances. The Edge likes Denver +1.5 at the line if you're betting into that market. Keep reading below to see what these picks are ahead of this game.
All data presented is as of Friday morning (AEST).
WEEK 4 FANTASY STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
Broncos Outlook
The Broncos entered the 2020 season with cautious but relatively high expectations. Much of it was due to the fact that in five regular season starts a season ago, rookie quarterback Drew Lock looked more than competent, going 4-1 in those games. They spent their offseason making big move after big move, showing the fan base that this team would be serious about contending this season. Despite all the offseason traction this team thought it would make, the Broncos have stumbled out of the gate and sit at 0-3 entering Week 4.
Although the Broncos already had a solid running back in Philip Lindsay, they went out and signed Melvin Gordon from the Chargers. After Lindsay went down with a toe injury, Gordon has been receiving the bulk of the carries, but he hasn’t been very successful in the process. He only has one rushing touchdown on the season, and in Denver's 28-10 loss to the Buccaneers last week, Gordon rushed just eight times for 26 yards. He added four receptions, but it has to be concerning that he can’t get anything going on the ground.
With the injury to Drew Lock (shoulder), the team looked first looked toward Jeff Driskel, but it was announced second-year undrafted free agent Brett Rypien still start this week. Rypien went eight-of-nine for 53 yard and an INT In relief of Driskel last week.
Injuries have taken a toll on this Broncos team. Beyond Lock and Lindsay, Courtland Sutton is out because of a season-ending a knee injury. This puts an even bigger burden on rookie wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. Jeudy, the first-round pick out of Alabama, has caught 13 passes for 173 yards. If the Broncos are going to stretch this Jets defense out, look for Jeudy to involved in a ton of targets early to get him going.
MORE TNF: FD single-game lineup | DK Showdown lineup | Start or sit?
Jets Outlook
Things have gone from bad to worse for the Jets. Coming into the season, head coach Adam Gase was already on the hot seat after a disappointing first year as coach. Things got off to a tumultuous start in training camp, as there was talk that Gase was not on the same page as Le’Veon Bell and that Bell would be splitting carries with Frank Gore. During the first game of the season, Bell went down with a hamstring injury and was immediately placed on Injured Reserve.
Despite how bad the Jets have looked with their 0-3 record and coming off a 36-7 beatdown at the hands of the Colts, plenty of punters clearly like the Jets' chances of securing their first victory against an equally injured and incompetent Broncos team.
For the Jets, the rest of the season needs to be looked at as an evaluation. Quarterback Sam Darnold is entering his third season as a starter, and while he’s shown flashes of greatness, he’s been more bad than good. In his three starts this season, Darnold has completed 61 percent of his passes for 562 yards. He’s thrown for three touchdowns and four interceptions, including three against the Colts last week. The team cannot be pleased that Darnold is averaging more than a pick per game and less than 200 yards passing, and if the team keeps losing, there will be serious internal discussions about taking a quarterback early in the draft.
All of that being said, the Jets have been undermanned severely due to injury. Their whole offense has been banged up, with Bell already on Injured Reserve, rookie receiver Denzel Mims on Injured Reserve as well, and free-agent acquisition Breshad Perriman banged up. It’s up to Darnold to put the team on his back, and against a banged up Broncos defense, this is the perfect opportunity to do so and quiet the critics for at least a week.
WEEK 4 FANTASY PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
Prediction
Our model has Denver to win head-to-head as the bet out of this game, giving them a 54 per cent chance of taking it out. Check out TAB's The Edge Predictive Analytics to see what our algorithm has targeted as the strongest play in this game. You can find all updated lines, odds, spreads, and NFL picks at TAB!